Successful Moms in Business

Entrepreneur Mom Shares Tips for Women in Business Who Have Children

Take a couple of kids at home, combine a mom with little business and marketing experience,
and add a mother's desire to launch a new business, what do you have? The ingredients for
potential entrepreneurial failure.

Working Mom's Help

This is exactly the prospect many moms face every day. "Opening a new business isn't easy to
do," says Albany resident Shannon Cherry, owner of Be Heard Solutions, a public relations firm for
women-led businesses, written for mom entrepreneurs. "But women are becoming entrepreneurs
at twice the rate of their male counterparts. They want to nurture a business along with nurturing
their children."

According to Cherry, entrepreneur moms can have success both with raising their kids and bringing home
the bacon, but it takes dedication and hard work. "It can be the closest thing to the best of both
worlds," she says. "However, there are several things moms who want to start a business should
remember."

Cherry offers some tips, to help moms in business:

You already have the skills. "When you're a mom, you already have the skills
needed to run a business," says Cherry. "After all, raising kids takes stamina, dedication,
organization and love. It's exactly the same needed for running a business."

Have a plan. "Whether you work inside or outside the home, you need time to get
the job done - without the kids around. That means you will need to plan some sort of childcare so you
will have time to take care of business," she says. Cherry also suggests working within your kids'
schedules by utilizing naptimes and when they are busy with school activities.

Find support. "It's not easy to try to do it all. So don't," Cherry says.
"What you need to find someone to help. It could be your spouse, hiring someone to do the things
you can't get done or don't have talent to take on, or finding like-minded moms online just to vent
and chat with." She suggests checking out organizations like Home-Based Working Moms or
eWomanNetwork. Both have
many mothers who are striving to achieve success in business while raising a family.

Cherry says no mom should try for the perfect work-life balance. "There's no such thing. Just
do what needs to be done the best way you can," she explains. "Dishes still in the sink?
So what. Laundry still needs to be folded? Big deal. What's important is to keep yourself and your
children happy. And if that means starting your own business, I say go for it."